Vision 2020 or read below.
THE VISION FOR FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF LANSING, 2020
We are believers in Jesus Christ, who gives us faith, life, unity and mission to the world. As a diverse, multi-cultural and enthusiastic congregation, we meet in downtown Lansing to grow in love and knowledge of God. We are a warm and welcoming congregation that strives to engage believers of all ages and different backgrounds in worship, fellowship and service.
First Presbyterian Church of Lansing
Community Outreach
We envision a church whose worship, programs, practices, and policies actively seek, intentionally welcome, and fully reflect the diversity of persons, cultures, languages, and lifestyles of the greater Lansing community. We will achieve these goals by intentionally engaging with people within and outside of our community, with their families and friends, and working to incorporate their voices in our ministry.
- We will implement new means of making ourselves and our welcome better known through enhanced use of social media and print media.
- We will strengthen ties with the following communities: LGBTQ, refugee (documented and undocumented), Latino, African American, American Indian and other excluded or marginalized communities in Lansing. We will actively engage with these communities and intentionally increase contact with them.
- We will deepen our relationship with U-Kirk, Q-Cross, PCUSA Churches (at the Synod, General Assembly, Presbytery, and local levels) and other Christian Churches in the Greater Lansing area in the belief that God’s work through Christ is enhanced by our cooperative actions.
- We will actively participate as an institutional member in the Downtown and West Side neighborhood associations.
Integration
We envision a church that carries on a mission of teaching and service to those who worship with us and to our community, and care of those who form the body of Christ. To those ends:
- We will focus attention on the nurture of our congregation and focus our programs to meet their spiritual, emotional, and physical needs.
- We will seek ways to draw people from the margins of church life to greater involvement in the Church.
- We will communicate frequently with our members regarding the life and mission of our Church.
- We will seek opportunities to include our youth in the mission of the church.
- We will use our church mission to increase inter-generational relationship-building.
- We will welcome volunteers to participate in our mission as discussed below and provide them with tools for effective action.
Mission
We envision a church whose life is more self-consciously shaped around Jesus’ ministry of healing and compassion and whose members are equipped and enabled to directly serve the poor and marginalized in our nation, world, and especially our community.
- We envision a facility that actively engages the Lansing region through its welcoming and inviting nature and its safe and well maintained condition that is optimized and maximized to serve our Christian mission.
- We will use our building and property for the facilitation of mission.
- We will evaluate a proposed mission program, in part, by its capacity to engage church members in practical, “hands-on” ways and we will work to increase participation by engaging 10 percent of the congregation in projects.
- We will work to equip our volunteers for the roles they play on committees and in the activities of the church.
- We will prioritize mission funding based on categories that include food and shelter, education, international projects, and mental and physical health.
- We will strengthen our partnerships with other communities of faith to serve the Lansing region and we will evaluate the needs in our local community every two years.
- We will consistently strive to increase our financial support for the overall mission activities of our church. We will plan to increase the budget of the Mission Committee to a minimum of 10% of our pledged income.
- We will contribute to on-going projects carried out by NGOs and granting organizations that help meet our church mission.
- We will advertise and promote experiential opportunities for “mission tourism” regionally, nationally, and globally.
Member Care and Involvement
We envision a church whose members are friends of one another because they are friends of Christ, and whose familiarity and sense of family is enhanced through regular and concrete acts of contact, caring, and community celebration inclusive of the full worshiping community.
- We will build connections between our Pastoral Care Assistant, Elders, Deacons, Member Care Coordinator and congregation
- We will build and maintain formal networks which connect congregants with one
another at new levels of friendship, support, care, and nurture so that each person is personally encouraged and then becomes part of a “congregation connection group.”
- We will encourage on-going relationships within these groups, which are free to enlarge their group and establish relationships by means of study or fellowship as each group determines.
- The Church Staff, Elders and Deacons will support and collaborate with the groups’ leaders by means of continued assessment of member need, training, and
Education
We envision a church whose members, friends and visitors are equipped to serve and challenged to grow in knowledge and understanding of self and of God, because we take seriously the promises we make at every baptism. We will provide regular opportunities of study, instruction, discussion, and practical experience, to the end that all are made disciples of Christ.
- We will recognize the centrality of education in our church by budgeting monies to coordinate robust and expanded education programs for all
- We will define our prime education goals to prepare officers and members for life-changing discipleship of Jesus Christ and “equipping them to live as commissioned disciples in the world.”
- We will engage ourselves in life-long learning opportunities, studying scripture and the core beliefs of our denomination, and put this knowledge to work in all areas of justice and healing in the world. The goal is to grow in wisdom and be inspired to act, knowing that we are better equipped to minister in a more Christ-like manner to our
- We will expand our discussion of race and diversity in our church and
- We will continue to explore and employ available technology as means of teaching and learning and we will ensure our facilities are ungraded to accommodate our educational programming.
- We will greatly increase the involvement and visibility of our children and youth in all aspects of the church’s life and intentionally make use of a variety of techniques and programs to engage
- We will provide engaging and interactive opportunities to equip, inspire and fulfill the learning needs of our congregation and families relative to their goal of rearing Christian children.
- We will approach education as an implicit element in everything we do as a faith community, so that learning may occur in worship, fellowship, mission work, small group meetings, and at all other opportunities.
This document revises Vision 2015, adopted by Session 12/16/09 for distribution to the congregation, endorsed by the congregation 2/7/10. Revision, adopted by Session 10/16/13
Vision 2020 was adopted by Session 3/16/16 for distribution to the congregation
Endorsed by the congregation 4/24/16
Congregation Connection Groups
We envision a church whose members are friends of one another because they are friends of Christ, and whose familiarity and sense of family is enhanced through regular and concrete acts of contact, caring, and community celebration inclusive of the full worshiping community.
- We will build and maintain formal networks which connectcongregantswith one another at new levels of friendship, support, care, and nurture so that each person is personally encouraged and then becomes part of a “congregation connection group”.
- We will encourage on-going relationships within these groups which are free to enlarge their group and establish relationships by means of study or fellowship as each group determines.
- The Church Staff, Elders, and Deacons will supportand collaborate with the groups’ leaders by means of continued training and involvement.
Education
We envision a church whose membership is equipped to serve and challenged to grow in knowledge and understanding of self and of God through regular opportunities of study, instruction, discussion, and practical experience, to the end that all are made disciples.
- We will recognize the centrality of education in our church by budgeting monies equal to a full time equivalent position tocoordinate robust and expanded education programs for all ages.
- We will define our prime education goals to be preparing members for life-changing discipleship and training of church leaders.
- We will continue to explore and employ available technology as means of teaching and learning, and we will assure our facilities are upgraded to accommodate our educational program
- We will greatly increase the involvement and visibility of our children and youth in all aspects of the church’s life and intentionally make use of non-traditional techniques and programs to engage them.
- We will approach education as an implicit element in everything we do as a faith community, so that learning may occur in worship, fellowship, mission work, small group meetings, etc.
- We will increase the number of offerings, the means of delivery, and the sites our education programs are offered. We will strive to make them more interactive and emphasize service learning.
- We will provide opportunities to support parents and fulfill their learning needs relative to their goal of rearing Christian children.
Adopted by Session 12/16/09 for distribution to the congregation